Couple jailed for faking husband's death

LONDON, July 23 (UPI) -- A British man and his wife received jail sentences Wednesday for teaming up to fake his death in a $500,000 insurance fraud plot, officials said.

John Darwin, 57, received a 6-year, 3-month jail sentence and his wife Anne Darwin, 56, received a 6-year, 6-month jail sentence, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

The couple was sentenced shortly after Anne Darwin was convicted of aiding her husband in the fraud plan, the newspaper said.

She received a longer sentence because she forced the case to go to trial by not confessing her participation in the plot, officials said.

Anne Darwin was found guilty of telling everyone, including her sons, Mark Darwin 32, and Anthony Darwin, 29, her husband was dead for at least five years to avoid bankruptcy.

The couple lied, saying John Darwin went missing at sea six years ago before they eventually emigrated "to Panama, where they thought they would be beyond the law," the judge said.

The couple's plot began to unravel after a photo of them in Panama in 2006 was seen on the Internet, the Daily Mail said.

Submit to